Interview with Justin Prather, June 1st, 2012

UNIDENTIFIED: Getting settled. Uh, uh, Justin, can you, uh, do me a favor and just say and spell your name for me?

PRATHER: Uh, Justin Prather, J-u-s-t-i-n P-r-a-t-h-e-r.

UNIDENTIFIED: Okay. And, uh, what branch of the service were you in?

PRATHER: Uh, Army.

UNIDENTIFIED: Army.

PRATHER: Yeah.

UNIDENTIFIED: And are you still with Army, or are you--?

PRATHER: No, sir, I'm--been out two years now.

UNIDENTIFIED: Okay, you're not Reserve------(??)?

PRATHER: No.

UNIDENTIFIED: Okay. And, uh, Justin, do we have your permission to use, uh, your likeness in this video the way it's been described, for oral history and the purposes--

PRATHER: --absolutely--

UNIDENTIFIED: --like that? Okay. I have to ask the legal question, but--

PRATHER: --Sure, I understand.

UNIDENTIFIED: Uh, Rick, I'm ready whenever you are.

SMOOT: Thanks. Justin, why don't you, uh, start us off with, uh, a little of your own background, where you were born and raised?

PRATHER: I was born in Lexington. I lived here my entire life, and, uh, the only time I left home really was when I was seventeen, when I left for the Military. And, uh, you know, I joined as a minor. Had to have my parents sign a waiver for me to even enter the service. And, uh, seventeen I left Lexington and went to Fort Jackson, 00:01:00South Carolina for basic training. But yeah, I lived here my whole life, and big blue fan and went to Lafayette High School, and I played golf there. Could've played golf for college if I chose to, but I decided to en-enter the Mil-Military, and that's what I did.

SMOOT: Why did you choose to enter the Military at that time?

PRATHER: Well, the recruiter was very good at their job. (Smoot laughs) Uh, I walked in there and--well, I'd seen them at Lafayette. They had--they come, and they're Class A's, and I was like, "That seems pretty cool." And I went and talked to them, and they showed me all the videos and talked about the money and what I could do and what I'd have waiting on me when I got out. And I was like, "Hmm, that sounds pretty good." So, you know, I took an ASVAB, which is similar to like a SAT, and the higher you score on your ASVAB the more jobs you have available to you. So I wasn't gonna join as Infantry or somethin' like that. I was only gonna join if I had, you know, a good career 00:02:00option. So I took my test, scored very well on it, ended up, uh, havin' the option to choose a job with the security clearance. And, you know, I looked into it, and, you know, you had to be good with numbers. You had to be organized and have good, you know, people skills, and that's everything I had. So, you know, that and the main fact that I would have my entire education paid for after my service, that was a selling point. Once they told me that and, you know, like I said, I went home and told my parents, and my dad was supportive. He's ex-Military. He was in the Army, as well, so he was all for it, especially after he found out the job that I was gonna be having. And he came up there with me and signed a waiver, and I went to the service.

SMOOT: And when was this, exactly?

PRATHER: In 2004. Um, I left in October 2004, and, you know, I, I signed up probably about eight months earlier than that. I turned eighteen in July, so I was technically eighteen when I left for basic, but I signed up at seventeen. But, you know, you have to wait for the next, the next basic training dates to open up, so I had eight months to 00:03:00prepare myself, and October 27th, 2004 is when I joined and left Lexington for basic training.

SMOOT: And where did you go?

PRATHER: Fort Jackson, South Carolina. And I went in the dead of winter. It was--I was never outdoorsy. I'm from Lexington. I'm not from the country, so it was all new to me. And then I'm the smallest, youngest person out of the entire basic training, not just my unit. Out of all three hundred something soldiers I was the youngest. So I kind of felt overwhelmed, but then, you know, we get there and it--I th-, I looked at it as a game. You know, it was fun to me. I didn't--because the Drill Sergeants didn't know your name, you were doin', you were, you were doin' right. If they knew your name it was a problem. So I just did what I was told and stayed under the spotlight and did the best I could, and next thing I know it I'm runnin' past the older guys and I'm doin' more pushups than the older guys, so it, it was really fun. But it was extremely cold. Um, I wa-wasn't too happy about that 'cause just 00:04:00'cause the weather's bad it doesn't mean you're gonna take the day off. You know, you're still out there doin' all that, but luckily for me, um, I got to come home for two weeks durin' my basic training. A lot of people don't get that opportunity because I was there during Christmas. So they let you come home for a two week period, so I was there two months and got to come back to Lexington for two weeks, and, uh, that was a nice little break in between. But, uh, my basic training was thirteen weeks, and, uh, be honest with you, I'd go do it again tomorrow. It was fun to me.

SMOOT: Hmm.

PRATHER: I enjoyed it. Uh--

SMOOT: --wouldn't think that it would be cold down there.

PRATHER: Well, in December it, it, it is. I mean, it, it was freezing. We--but the Army, they give you some pretty legit cold weather gear, you know. Th-they take care of you. It's not like you're, you're--the, the tent--or the sleeping bags they gave you, the less clothes you have on the warmer you are. So, you know, you sleep tight, and--but then the Drill Sergeants come rip your tents open at five in the morning and tell you to get ready. It's, it's, it's pretty cold, so--

SMOOT: Okay. Now, what were you training to be, exactly?

PRATHER: My job title was 15 Papa, Aviation Operations Specialist. 00:05:00Um, my job consisted--it was a very important job. Like I said earlier, I had to have a security clearance to even be considered for this job, and, um--

SMOOT: --hmm--

PRATHER: --my job-- I had to, um--well, when I was overseas I had to track a-all the flights. That was--I had to work in the TOC, which is the Tactical Operations Center, and this is where the security clearance came into effect. Um, I was a Specialist, and in this building were Generals, Colonels, Captains, Majors, you know, because I knew every detail of every mission. I knew where the aircraft were going. I knew what time they were leaving, what time they were arriving, the equipment they were carrying, the people they had on board. So, you know, your average Joe can't come in and know all this. It's a security threat. So, um, that's why there's so many high ranking people in there, and why I had to have a security clearance. So, um, I would be sitting at a desk. I would have my radios. I would have my GPS, which we called a 00:06:00Blue Force Tracker. And I would communicate back and forth with the aircraft, and I would relay information to them that the Battle Captain who was overseeing the TOC at the time--usually a Captain--um, he would tell me something. I would go on the radios with whichever aircraft and relay the information to them, whether it was bad weather coming in or security threats along the way. And, um, we had a board, was our flight tracking board, and I would have to log each departure time and each arrival time throughout their entire mission. So, you know, um, attention to detail is everything. And I would have to--if anybody came in, Sergeant Major or the Colonel, they would come ask me, you know, "What's going on with these missions?" And I would have to know every last bit of information to tell him. Very important job.

SMOOT: I would say so.

PRATHER: Yeah.

SMOOT: Uh, what--do you know what level of security clearance you had?

PRATHER: Um, I, I don't know which level. I know that there was one higher than mine, which is Pentagon type thing.

SMOOT: Okay.

PRATHER: So as far as the Army overseas goes, I had the security threat. I mean, you had to have a badge on to even walk into my building. You, you couldn't even come attend, like with somebody that had a badge. If you didn't have one, you weren't allowed in.

SMOOT: Okay.

PRATHER: And, um, they, they run a civilian background check on you for this type of security clearance, not just a military. So I could have all these awards and decorations, but if my civilian history had any glitches in it, I wouldn't qualify for this job at all to begin with.

SMOOT: Hmm.

PRATHER: So, but--and that's how it is in the States, too. And during the States, you know, we would just track, um, like maintenance test flights, stuff like that. The, the pilots would come down. They'd have to log a certain amount of hours per week, and we would keep our flight record books up to date, and we would sign out the aircraft keys and, uh, be accountable for those, make sure they get signed in, signed out. We signed out, uh, night vision goggles. We were, uh, responsible for the accountability of all the special equipment like that. So 00:08:00it was a very easy job in the States. It wasn't as stressful. We didn't have the Colonels and the--you know, just be me and my Sergeant down there just making sure that the pilots held up their end of the deal and signed in their keys and signed 'em out, and--and if they didn't--if they were running a late test flight, coming back at 11:00 and they were tired and went, went on to their car and went home without signing in their aircraft keys, we would have to get them on the phone and stay there until they drove back and signed 'em in. It's, you know, extremely important they got 'em in. That was our job to make sure that that happened.

SMOOT: So I'm guessing then that you had some real experience in doing this job Stateside before you went overseas?

PRATHER: Well, we went to, um, Denver to train in the mountains up there, and--

SMOOT: --in the Rockies.

PRATHER: Right, the Rockies.

SMOOT: It's pretty up there, isn't it?

PRATHER: Very beautiful. And, um, like I understand why Olympic athletes go up there and train--

SMOOT: --um-hm--

PRATHER: --'cause I am a runner, and I went up there and I was suckin' wind hard. It's no joke. But regardless, we went up there to train, get--you know, we used--'cause I 00:09:00fly, as well, overseas, so we would go practice flying through the mountains, because when you're overseas you don't fly in a straight line. You know, it's up and down and sharp turns and changing your elevation or whatever. So they would practice over there. But that's when I got the experience or the practice to go overseas and, and do my job.

SMOOT: Where did you go first overseas?

PRATHER: I went to Iraq. I was stationed in Tikrit, and, um, actually I was there for thirteen months, and we worked, uh--it was 2005 to 2006, and we worked twelve hour shifts every day. Twelve hours on, twelve hours off, twelve hours on, twelve hours off, without a day off.

SMOOT: Hmm.

PRATHER: Um, we got to come home for two weeks while we were over there. Um, you get to put in for whatever weeks you want off during the entire year, but that's the only two weeks you get to come home. And, um, that's when I got my first experience of war. I mean, I was eighteen and, um, you know, the--in a, in a way I was excited to go, you know. Me and all--I had friends 00:10:00my age, so it was just kinda exciting to go over there. But you know, once I touched my--once I put that first step on the ground, took a look around, I, I was, was kind, kind of blown away. It's just completely different, as you can expect, and--

SMOOT: --well, can you give me a little bit more feel for that?

PRATHER: Well, we, uh--it's a long flight. They give you an Ambien to, to try to sleep, so--

SMOOT: --did it help?

PRATHER: It, it did.

SMOOT: Okay.

PRATHER: Yeah, it did its job. But we get there, and we fly into Kuwait. And, um, the pilot comes over the airplane and, and says, you know, "Take a look out your window. We're landing in the Kuwait International Airport," and, and then you see all the lights and stuff, and it's like a, your average city. But then, uh, you get off the plane and you s-, you s-, you see the people over there, for one, and that's the first thing you see, and you know you're not home. And, uh, the air smells different, smells dirty almost, not 00:11:00fresh like American air. And, uh, Kuwait--w-we fly, um, in a civilian aircraft from here to Kuwait. It's nice. It's like first class the entire plane. You got a stewardess on there take care of you, you got TVs in the back of your headrest. They make it comfortable, but, you know, you're holding your weapon. You're ready to go. And, um, when we get to Kuwait, that's when we hop onto the Military aircrafts, you know, whether it's a Black Hawk or a 757. It--what, whatever you're designated to fly on is what you'll go, and that's when you fly--or s-some people actually convoy into Iraq. So I flew, however. I flew in a Black Hawk helicopter, and, um, you know, tha--but Kuwait's not, not all bad, though. People actually look forward to going to Kuwait, 'cause, uh, they have nice facilities there, and they have running showers. Um, they have phone stations. You can call home. It's a big difference--I think it's eight hour time difference, so I called--I think we arrived there at night, and called 00:12:00both my parents, and I just set up, and you gotta find your duffle bag. They--you, you put a special tag on your duffle bag, so you look for it and grab your duffle bag and you head to your tent. You stay in a tent with about twelve guys on a cot, and, um, sand on the floor. There's no hardwood or anything. And, um, you go grab you a warm bottle of water that's been sittin' in the heat all day--(Smoot laughs)--and, uh, you just wait until the next morning. You have a briefing, you know, about what time you're heading out and whatever. And when you get to Kuwait is when you get your ammo. You don't fly over with ammo on the airplane.

SMOOT: Hmm.

PRATHER: They, uh--you get all your rounds and you get ready to rock and roll the next day.

SMOOT: What sort of weapon did you have?

PRATHER: I had an M4 carbine, automatic, uh, rifle.

SMOOT: Okay.

PRATHER: The red scope on it. I've had that same weapon my entire time in the Military. And it becomes your best friend, in a way. I mean, you, you take it everywhere. You sleep with it. You, uh, go eat with it, and you go to the gym with it. I mean, uh, you gotta have it--you don't want to be caught without your 00:13:00weapon, put it that way.

SMOOT: Right.

PRATHER: So the M4.

SMOOT: Okay. Um, why do you think the air was different? Did it--was it just the heat?

PRATHER: Well--

SMOOT: --dust?--

PRATHER: --I think that, uh, it was the heat, and their facilities, their sewage facilities over there, they aren't like ours here. They're open water.

SMOOT: Ah, okay.

PRATHER: And, you know, that stuff, it bakes in the sun all day in 120 degree heat.

SMOOT: Yeah.

PRATHER: And like the sad thing is that you get used to it--(Smoot laughs)--and when you smell fresh air it's, it's different because you're not smelling that.

SMOOT: Right.

PRATHER: So.

SMOOT: Right. So what was the facility like once you went, got to Tikrit?

PRATHER: All right, we stayed in, um, what we called CHUs--Combat Housing Units. It was like a little trailer, uh, had three people in it. It was probably, I don't know, twenty feet 00:14:00long, maybe fifteen feet wide. I mean, it was, it was two cots on the end and one cot in the middle, and everybody had their own wall locker, and that was it. You--I mean, I could probably--me and my friend wh-who I was staying with, we could both stretch our arms out and wouldn't have enough room to, to, uh, stretch 'em out completely, 'cause--like he would probably stick his elbow out and hit the other side of the wall if I had my arm extended, see what I'm saying? And--

SMOOT: --um-hm--

PRATHER: --it was small. And then we had to walk to our showers. Um, so, you know, you're sweating all day and you go take a shower, and then as soon as you come out of the shower you're sweating 'cause how hot it is, and you have sand all over you going back to your room, so you're just as dirty as you were when you went to the shower. (Smoot laughs)

SMOOT: (laughs) Um-hm, uh huh.

PRATHER: But, um, they had bunkers all over the place. Every few--every about at twenty yards they have a, a bunker for you to go in if the sirens go off, and, um, it was gravel on base, so--I tho-, I figured it would be sand all over the place, but it was gravel. And, um--

SMOOT: --had that been done by the Military?

PRATHER: Yes, yeah. Everyth--luckily for me, like the war, um, 00:15:00started a few years before I went overseas, so the bases were much more built up. Like the units prior to me, you know, I heard they had to like ba-basically establish their own bases. They had to take over buildings and sleep in the streets and stuff like that. So I didn't have the experience that--they had already built up bases when I went over, so I was a little bit more fortunate than other guys, but yeah, th-they built, they built, uh, sand bunkers. They had probably, I don't know, fifteen or twenty foot, um, concrete barriers that surrounded the TOC where I worked at. And, um, it was probably about a mile walk. I'd walk out of my CHU. I mean, the, the CHUs were in rows, probably ten per row, twenty rows deep, so there--it was all in the same area. And, um, it was about a mile walk to where I worked at, maybe a little under. And, um, I would walk into my building, had my badge on, and, um, I would walk in and to the right would be my, my section, the radios, and in the center 00:16:00was like a podium that was a seat a little bit higher than everybody else, and that's where the Battle Captain sat at. And, you know, to the left of me--like it was, uh, it was like a, I don't know, half a square shape. It was, uh--I was in the center, and then on the two other walls there was the weather--

SMOOT: --hmm--

PRATHER: --and then on the other wall it was the security, S2. And they would both relay to me, "Hey, this--we just got word of a threat along this route, and get ahold of the aircraft," and the weather would be like, "We have bad weather coming in for this mission, get ahold of that aircraft," and the Battle Captain was right behind me. And then other than that, the chow hall was about a mile from there, and--

SMOOT: --um-hm --

PRATHER: --we got to go about thirty minutes a day, just go eat and come right back and go to work.

SMOOT: How was the food?

PRATHER: It was, uh, it was actually really good. It was, uh--they took care of us, 'cause it's Am-, um, it was Americans that come over there and cook for us.

SMOOT: Um-hm.

PRATHER: This is Iraq, not Afghanistan. Afghanistan food was terrible, but Iraq it was, uh, it was good. I mean, it 00:17:00was American food--hamburgers and hot dogs and fries and pasta, whatever you think of, pizza. They would have a seafood night. It wasn't the best, but it was still seafood.

SMOOT: Right.

PRATHER: And, uh, they had a gym there that was open twenty-four hours. You work out whenever you wanted.

SMOOT: Nice gym?

PRATHER: Very nice, yeah. It was nice equipment, very big. And, um, it's the only place on the base you could wear headphones--

SMOOT: --hmm--

PRATHER: --so take advantage of that. And, um, I mean, other than that it was, it was just routine. It was wake up--I would work, um, I would work 8:00 to 8:00 and, for about half the year, and then we would switch, so, you know, the other shift could experience daylight, you know. 'Cause one of the shifts was working at night and sleeping during the day.

SMOOT: Um-hm.

PRATHER: You know, it's not a way to live. So we would have a switch in the middle of the year, and then we would switch shifts. I would be night shift, and someone else would replace me as day, 8:00 to 8:00 every day.

SMOOT: Was a twelve hour shift common in the Military?

PRATHER: Overseas only.

SMOOT: It is.

PRATHER: In the States, the Military's the best job ever. If there wasn't a war goin' on, you know, I recommend anybody to go in. It's a, it's a 9:00 to 5:00. Well, you start at 6:30 in the morning doin' PT, 6:30, 7:30, then you have an hour and a half to go home, shower, eat breakfast, and come back at work at 9:00, and you work 'til 4:00 or 5:00 then you go home.

SMOOT: Um-hm.

PRATHER: Simple as that. But overseas it's twelve hours, automatically.

SMOOT: Okay--

PRATHER: --you know, for my job. I can't speak on somebody else's job.

SMOOT: Um-hm.

PRATHER: Yeah.

SMOOT: Did you come under fire at, uh, Tikrit?

PRATHER: Yes, sir, all the time. You know, my--the fire I came under was mortar fire. That's how they liked to fight. They would shoot mortars from a distance. And, um, they would try to get lucky. And, you know, I could be doing anything. I could be sitting there watching a movie on my laptop in my room when I was off, or I could be walking to the chow hall, or I could be working. And what we found out was that if you heard, you 00:19:00know, the--(imitates sound of bomb falling)--like that's a good thing, 'cause it's over your head, so you don't have to worry about that one. But when you don't hear it, you know, it's re-relatively close. But the thing about that is it's--the Military, they try to space their bases out as best as they can. It's like throwing a needle in a haystack, like with--well, can't really use that phrase, but the odds of them hitting somebody walking is so small, you know, you have really nothing to worry about. I mean, yeah, they're flying mortars, and they have to hit somewhere, and, you know, unfortunately they did hit a few places where, where people were at, and, um--but the base is so spread out that you just, you really don't pay it any mind, as weird as that may seem. Like I could be watching a movie and, and we would hear it, and me and my roommate would just look at each other and put our headphones back in and continue watching, and just hoping that, you know, we're not gonna be one of the unlucky ones.

SMOOT: Hmm.

PRATHER: But if you're out-- Usually we were just too 00:20:00tired to get up, and--(laughs)--we would stay in our room. But if we were at work or if we were out at the gym or at the chow hall, they would, you know--the sirens would go off, and then that's when you would run and find cover under a bunker. Like I said, they had 'em all over the place. You always had one in a matter of steps, no matter where you were. You would just go hang there until the all clear came on, and, um-- But what was cool for me was that my job--you know, I worked in the TOC with, and I would always know what was going on, so we would always get some informants that would tell us where people liked to fire these mortars at, so I would--well not me, the Battle Captain would get a mission together to go take care of these people, and I would track the whole thing. I would see it go down. So, you know, I always got to see payback on 'em, which was pretty cool.

SMOOT: Um-hm. Uh, was this, uh, s-specialized missions to go after these guys? Uh--

PRATHER: --Yeah, that's all it was. It was go out there and ta-, and get rid of 'em. I mean, we had, 00:21:00we had different missions for whether it was go get supplies --

SMOOT: --yeah --

PRATHER: --and, um, passengers, they had to get from base to base. You know, American contractors, you know, fixing the air conditioners, or, or whatever, the food people. Regardless, or even higher rank people, Generals would have to get transferred from base to base. So that's what the majority of our missions were were transporting passengers, you know, and getting them where they needed to go. But, you know, occasionally we, we'd call a spur of the moment mission to go, if we got some information where some people were hiding out at or we just re-, re-, had a recent mortar attack and we knew where they were, they would launch up the Apaches and go line 'em up and take care of 'em.

SMOOT: You mentioned civilian contractors. There were all kinds of civilian contractors.

PRATHER: Right.

SMOOT: How was that, uh, relationship with, uh, the Military in your opinion?

PRATHER: Uh, well we appreciated everything they did. They gave us air conditioners. They made sure the showers were running. You know, they--those guys, they sacrifice just as much as we do. 00:22:00They don't do the twelve hours on for a year long, but they leave their families and come over here just, just like we do. And, um, they were allowed in where I was, where I was at, the TOC, but we would have to cover up like our, our board with the missions on it and, and what-not. They couldn't see that type of stuff, but they were allowed in there, and they were always treated nicely, and--yeah, I became friends with a couple of 'em. Like I said--

SMOOT: --um-hm--

PRATHER: --they take care of you. I mean, they--if, if the individual air conditioner went out in my room, they--we would call, and within a half hour they'd have somebody knock on the door, take care of it.

SMOOT: Um-hm.

PRATHER: They gave us the first internet we had over there. Um, they put up a satellite all by themselves for the soldiers over there, to give us internet. So I actually thought about doing that, um--

SMOOT: --right--

PRATHER: --once I got out, but then I met my wife--(Smoot laughs)--as you know, and had a daughter, and I just--it's not an option anymore. I couldn't leave them behind. But, um, I actually thought about it. They make good money, and I think they, their contractors go there for six months, and, uh, then they come 00:23:00home. So--

SMOOT: --yeah--

PRATHER: --I think it was good for the Military to--real good.

SMOOT: Okay. Uh, now you were in, uh, Iraq for a year?

PRATHER: Yes.

SMOOT: Okay. And, uh, is there anything more that you would point to as far as conditions or, uh, activities that were going on in Iraq--

PRATHER: --well, uh--

SMOOT: --while you were there?

PRATHER: One of my biggest war stories is that I was a part of the mission that took care of al-Zarqawi. Um, I watched it happen. I watched the building explode. And, uh, we had gotten word that this was about to go down, and a hand few people got called into the TOC, and they needed somebody to run the radios, so they called me. And, um, actually had gotten the day off--I think it was, I think it was June 6th in, uh--

SMOOT: --0-five?--

PRATHER: --two-thousand and six.

SMOOT: Okay, '06.

PRATHER: That, uh, that that, that this mission happened, and, um, I had given, I had been given the day off that day 00:24:00and had been told to come in late that night. And I--they wouldn't tell me why. You know, they didn't want me to tell anybody or whatever and ask questions. I was like, "Okay," so I knew something was goin' down. I thought it was, you know, go find some other high value target, but I didn't realize it would be as high as al-Zarqawi. And, um, I got there and got briefed on the mission, and we found out that couple Air Force, uh, jets were gonna go drop a couple guided bombs there, and we got up our, uh, um, our Predator feed. You, you familiar with the Predator? It's the--it's, it's a plane that's flown from base, like nobody's in it. It's like a remote controlled aircraft that can just hover a mile in the sky, and you can watch everything that's going down below you. The people down there, they don't have a clue what's up there. It makes zero noise. It's small. You can't see it, and you can see people clear as day. It's, it's, you know, it's a grey-white feed. I'm sure you've seen it on the news. It's, uh, it's pretty cool. We, we launched our Predator, and, um, we had, um--the reason I 00:25:00needed to come up there is 'cause we had our Apaches on standby in case, you know, something that, something went wrong or whatever. We would send them in there to take care of some things. But nothing went wrong, and we're all sitting there, a couple generals behind me, and we're watching this building, and the next thing you know it's not there anymore, and --

SMOOT: --hmm--

PRATHER: --nothing but smoke and dust take over the screen, and that's when al-Zarqawi was killed, and that was Osama's number two. And, uh, I saw that happen live, which is something I'll never forget.

SMOOT: I would think not.

PRATHER: Yeah.

SMOOT: Yeah. Anything else, uh, in Iraq that we should, uh, touch on before I move on to--

PRATHER: --um--

SMOOT: --your next assignment?

PRATHER: Well, uh, I can talk about how it was to come home for my first time.

SMOOT: Please.

PRATHER: Um, been over there a year, and the unit fi--that's replacing us finally gets there, and those poor guys--we're all cheering and 00:26:00smiles, and they have a whole year ahead of them what we just went through. But at that point we didn't care. We just wanted to brief 'em, um, kind of give 'em an idea how we do things, 'cause they, you know, they're their own unit, they might do things differently, but we had a pretty good system. We trained 'em up and got ready to go, and we, uh, flied our Military aircrafts to Kuwait, and Kuwait we hop on that civilian one, and people didn't take Ambiens that trip. We were just so excited, and just all smiles, and we get th-, uh, when we get over to the States the pilot comes over and says, you know, "We're now over United States," and the plane just erupts in cheers, and all smiles. And we get to Fort Campbell and land, and we look outside and there's hundreds of people with flags and our families. And we get off the plane to a standing ovation. Actually, we get to Atlanta first, and, uh, the people, the--somebody comes over the, the airport in Atlanta--the entire Atlanta airport is huge--and they say, you know, "We have 00:27:00some soldiers arriving from overseas," so as we're walking through the airport to our next terminal, we're just getting a standing ovation from everybody. It's--like it gives me chills thinking about it to this day. And then, uh, we hop on our plane to go to Fort Campbell, and we get off, and we, uh, file down the plane and we get in formation, and we marched into the hangar, and it's just like a football stadium, the way it sounded. It was just our families in there and the news and, you know, we get in there and they tell us to halt, and "Y'all are dismissed," and we just run up and hug our families, and it was a good feeling.

SMOOT: Right.

PRATHER: Yeah.

SMOOT: Right.

PRATHER: And I'm home for a year, and then I go back and do it all again in Afghanistan.

SMOOT: Uh, what was your assignment here. You were here for a year, you say. What, what were you doing while--

PRATHER: --well, the first three months--

SMOOT: --you were here?--

PRATHER: --months after deployment you don't do much of anything. You know, you just busted your tail for twelve hour shifts for a year straight, came home only fourteen days. They--you go do PT in the morning, and then usually at about 9:00 or 10:00 they're like, "All right, guys, go home for the day," just 'cause they 00:28:00know what we've done. They were there, as well. So--

SMOOT: --um-hm--

PRATHER: --our NCOs, they don't really work as hard. You just show up for accountability purposes only, and, uh, and then you get to go home for the day. So the first three months is, is easy, and after about that third month, you know, we're back, we're back home and I would just go back to doing my job with the pilots, you know, signing out their aircrafts and getting flight logs recorded, and--

SMOOT: --was this at Fort Campbell?

PRATHER: Yes, Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

SMOOT: Okay.

PRATHER: 101st.

SMOOT: Okay.

PRATHER: So it was the same routine. Like I said, it's just a 9:00 to 5:00 job when you're in the States. You know, I, we would go to the range--'cause you find out about deployment about eight months before you go.

SMOOT: Yeah.

PRATHER: You just don't know the exact dates you leave, and they don't tell you that 'til a couple weeks before. But we knew we had a deployment to Afghanistan coming up, um, so we were just getting ready to go to the range a few times a week. You know, start getting our equipment cleaned and accounted for and getting loaded, and--which is never fun. And then 00:29:00we, uh, we go to, um, D-Denver again and train up there, and, um, that was it, just getting ready for Afghanistan. It was just routine, 9:00 to 5:00 job.

SMOOT: You knew you were preparing for Afghanistan?

PRATHER: Yeah, we knew we were going, 'cause Fort Campbell's an Infantry division, and, you know, there's a few Infantry divisions across the country that do year on, year off, year on, year off. Uh, Fort Bragg's another, in North Carolina. And they were actually the ones that replaced us in Iraq.

SMOOT: Um-hm.

PRATHER: And, uh, once we found out-- I mean, we knew it was gonna happen. We didn't think it would be so soon. I think we were only home actually eleven months, and-- But we, that's all we had deployed for was eleven, instead of thirteen. So, uh, you know, we told our family that it was happening, and went home for a couple weeks before we left, and spent time with them, and did it all over again.

SMOOT: So where were you going once you were in Afghanistan? Where did, where were you deployed there?

PRATHER: Uh, it was the same, it was the same routine: 00:30:00went to Kuwait, and then from Kuwait I went to Kandahar this time, which was, um, um, Osama's hometown. And, uh, I actually misspoke earlier; al-Zarqawi was, uh, Saddam's number two, I believe. And hi-, we were in his hometown, Tikrit, which was Saddam's, and then Afghanistan, Osama's hometown, was where I was at, Kandahar. So that's why we received so much, so much fire--

SMOOT: --right.--

PRATHER: --in those two places.

SMOOT: Okay.

PRATHER: And, um, we were gon--I was in Kandahar, and this was, uh--I didn't like this deployment at all. It was--I didn't like Iraq but I could tolerate it, you know. But as soon as I stepped off the plane on this one it was cold, it was rainy, it was muddy, it was sandy. It wasn't gravel. Um, it was just miserable from the first step I took, and it was, stayed that way the entire deployment.

SMOOT: Now, are you talking about the base itself, or are you talking just about--

PRATHER: --yeah, the base.

SMOOT: Okay.

PRATHER: Yeah, yeah.

SMOOT: So the, these facilities of the US Military were not up to the same standards--

PRATHER: --n-n-not at all--

SMOOT: --as they were at Iraq.

PRATHER: Not at all. We, uh, didn't have running water for a while, and went twelve days without a shower. Um, we would just take water bottles and, you know, dump 'em over our--we would stand in the shower and just take water bottles and dump 'em over our head in the shower, and baby wipe showers. We did that regularly. Gets you pretty clean. (Smoot laughs) And, um--

SMOOT: --(laughs) good--

PRATHER: --the food was terrible. They, um, the local nationals cooked for us. It wasn't Americans. So, um, food was just the worst. I remember one time I went to the chow hall to grab something to drink, and I saw this local national making tuna, and he had tuna on his finger, and he just flicked it in the bowl and licked his finger and started stirring it up again. It was just--you know, that's one of those things you just turn your head to 'cause you have to eat. Um, it was porta-potties to use the bathroom, and it wasn't 00:32:00like an actual latrine that had toilets or whatever, urinals. It was porta-potties, nothin' but that the entire year.

SMOOT: Hmm.

PRATHER: And, um, the gym wasn't as nice as Iraq. It was small, and always overcrowded. And this time I had a different weapon. I had M203, and, um, it was way heavier. I had to cart that everywh--with me everywhere. I was just complainin' this whole tour.--(Smoot laughs)--I just was ready to go from day one.

SMOOT: Why'd they give you a different weapon?

PRATHER: Uh, just 'cause I, uh, I had gotten promoted, and only three people had one, uh, per company, and I was a Squad Leader, and they wanted me to have it, just because I was more experienced with it.

SMOOT: Give me the numbers on squads and companies. How many people are we talkin' about?

PRATHER: Well, there was, uh, there was a brigade, which has, uh, about six battalions in it, and each battalion has about seven 00:33:00companies in it, and each company has four squads in it. So we're talkin' about, I don't know, thirty or forty people per company, and, um, the squad leader was standing at the far right during every formation, and you'd have about six or seven people in your squad that you would be in charge of and responsible for, make sure they knew what, what uniform to be in, what time and where to be, and, you know, make sure they had their duffel bag packed correctly. Just, just kinda making sure they don't mess up, 'cause if they mess up they don't get in trouble, y-you know, I would. So you just always lookin' over them, make sure that you always have their best interests, and make sure they got the job done when you told 'em to get it done. So I had about six people under me during my time in Afghanistan, which made it a bit easier, 'cause, you know, I, in Iraq I was a Private and I was young, so I was always the one taking out the trash and cleaning up the food and sweeping before I went every shift. So this 00:34:00time, you know, I got to put those responsibilities on, you know, somebody that was in my--that I was in their shoes the previous deployment. So that made it a bit easier as far as not having to do all that type of stuff and just focus on the task at hand, which was, you know, tracking the missions and what-not.

SMOOT: Okay. What--can you tell me the difference between the weapons, aside from one being heavier than the other?

PRATHER: Uh, well the one could--the one I carried could rip a person in half. If I shot 'em across their stomach it would tear 'em in half completely, and the--and it was automatic. You could just keep your fi-, your, uh, finger on the trigger and it wouldn't stop firing until you let go. And, um--

SMOOT: --like a machine gun.

PRATHER: Yeah, it was a machine gun.

SMOOT: All right.

PRATHER: And super heavy. Uh, it had two little legs you could put on the ground--

SMOOT: --um-hm--

PRATHER: --you know, make it easier if you were shooting. And, um, you had to have a drum rather than a magazine for your ammo. And, uh--

SMOOT: --right, okay--

PRATHER: --the M4, you know, it--you--single shots, bat, bat, bat, bat, or you can do three round bursts. It would shoot three at a time. But there was no automatic, or constant fire. And it was, uh, lightweight. You know, the butt stock was contractible. You could make it longer or shorter if you wanted, um, easier to clean. And, uh, you're more accurate with it because you have the scope, and it's lighter. And with the 203, you know, you just start shooting in the direction and you're going to hit something. You know, you don't really have to-- It's not like a one shot, one kill type weapon. It's a, "I'm just gonna shoot in your area and it'll hit you eventually."

SMOOT: Hmm.

PRATHER: So it was, uh--but it just took up space. I just didn't enjoy carrying it. So--

SMOOT: --okay--

PRATHER: --it was really just the accuracy and how much ammo you could take and how you could fire it was the difference between the two.

SMOOT: Okay. Now, you were deployed with the same guys--

PRATHER: --same--

SMOOT: --that you had been deployed with in Iraq?

PRATHER: Well, the same unit. Um, people in the Military, they ETS [editor's note: expiration, term of service] all the time. They, they get out, they come. New people come, people go. You know, it's just like a sports team. There's no guarantees, you know. Um, I had different leadership, which made it a bit different. Um, you know, I saw things this deployment that still kind of mess with me to this day. Like 'cause, uh--these, my leadership, they put me on med evac operations.

SMOOT: Hmm.

PRATHER: Yeah, and, um, anytime somebody got shot or missing a limb, you know, we would have to launch our aircraft to go, um, to go pick them up, and--

SMOOT: --right--

PRATHER: --they needed a radio guy on the aircraft to communicate with the TOC, so they took me from the TOC to the aircraft. So I wasn't necessarily bandaging these people up, but they 00:37:00were still laying right next to me, like screaming or--

SMOOT: --yeah--

PRATHER: --glass all in their face, or missing a hand.

SMOOT: Tough.

PRATHER: Yeah. I don't even want to talk about that.

SMOOT: Okay. I can understand that. Uh, what else were you assigned to do in Afghanistan?

PRATHER: Um, I, I worked with a Special Forces, um, unit--

SMOOT: --oh, really?--

PRATHER: --which was pretty cool.

SMOOT: Um-hm.

PRATHER: We went--it was, uh, TK, Tarin Kowt. Um, that was part of the med evac operations, we--'cause they were Special Forces and, you know, a lot of Infantry come in and out of that base, so they sent two guys, um, to fly to Tarin Kowt, which is--people actually enjoyed it because you're, um, you go up there with one other person. I went up there with one of my soldiers. I would work twelve hours, he would work--he would sleep and he would come work twelve hours and I would get off then. You didn't have all the other higher ups there with you. It was just you and him in this office by yourself. It was, uh--you know, we didn't have other 00:38:00NCOs there, other Captains. There were no officers. It was kind of a, just a break from how busy it was back in Kandahar. So people actually enjoyed it. I actually paid somebody $200 one time for me to take their month, 'cause you went a month, um, shif-, or at a time. So I would do one month, and somebody would come relieve me and do a month, so I actually paid somebody $200 once to do their month, 'cause of how much I enjoyed it there.

SMOOT: Hmm.

PRATHER: And, um--but on the same note it's, uh, it's kind of scary in a way, 'cause it's not really a-- it's a base, but it's a Special Forces one, so there are no lights, it's pitch black at night. Um, where we went to use the restrooms at, they would have local nationals there on their knees like praying, like right outside the door if we went and took a shower or used the bathroom. So we were more, um, visible to how, how they lived over there. They, uh, would do our laundry for us, and would--you know, there was no American contractors over there. It was strictly just local nationals who, you 00:39:00know, earned the trust of the soc-, or the, uh, Special Forces, and they were allowed on the base. And it was just a different experience. And then, um--but there is when I didn't have to go out in the middle, in the aircraft, like I was just responsible for the radios there, which is why I really enjoyed it. So, um, I went to Tarin Kowt with the Special Forces, which is really all I did besides going to Kandahar. I was in either in Kandaha-, Kandahar or Tarin Kowt the whole, the whole time. And, um, I never left the base once on vehicle. It was always in a Black Hawk UH60. And, um, we'd become--we came under fire a few times, like we--'cause when we had to pick these guy up who called in for a med evac, a lot of times they were still under fire, and, uh, they would have to set us up a landing zone. They would have to secure a landing zone for us to come in. They would, you know, pick up the wounded and bring them to us, because we couldn't always just land where 00:40:00they got shot at, because it was, uh, it was still under fire. And a lot of time we would take off, and our door gunner would, uh, end up getting in a firefight, and, um--the aircraft got hit once while I was in it, but it was just one bullet and it didn't do any damage. And, uh, ca-that's really the main fire I came under there one time while I was there was picking up or arriving or leaving with, uh, the med evac operations I was a part of. And, uh, one time we were going on a mission, and the Infantry had their night vision goggles on, and we were about to leave the base, and, uh, they saw two, um, green lasers pointing directly up in the sky, I don't know, about a hundred yards apart, and it was on our base. So they were curious what that was, so we turned off the aircraft, and they, uh, went 00:41:00to take a look at it, and they found that the lasers were at the chow hall, where hundreds of soldiers ate at every day. There was a laser on one side of the entrance and there was a laser on the exit, both on the ground hidden by rocks, pointing straight up. And that was to give, you know, somebody a target with a mortar to hit it. So they did a random search of all the, the local nationals that served food there, and they found bomb making material in one of their rooms, and, um, so they prevented what could've been, you know, a disaster for the base I was at, 'cause, you know, you don't want anybody to have--I mean, they shoot at our base, they have to hit something as it is, but to have a target, uh, visible as a laser, you know, they could walk in and they could've taken out four or five hundred soldiers at once if they hit it during the right hours. So that was pretty scary to see that they had that type of option to, to put lasers on our chow hall.

SMOOT: Yeah.

PRATHER: Yeah.

SMOOT: You don't, uh, you don't think of, uh, of sus-, 00:42:00you know, Afghani, uh, effort to have that kind of technology available--

PRATHER: --right--

SMOOT: --to them. Where did they get lasers from?

PRATHER: I don't know. They have--you know, they're a organization just like the Military is. They're a terrorist organization. They have weapons. They have a lot--I mean, they have just as many kind of weapons as we do, in a sense. I mean, there's no telling what they have. I mean, they have ways of listening in to phone calls. They have ways of--I mean, they, they can get their hands on pretty much anything they want. I, I'm not really have a lot of information on how they get that, um, but I know they, I know they have it. I mean, you go to the PX [editor's note: post exchange] that was on base and, and buy like whatever batteries or any type of thing that you can make a homemade explosive device, so they could--they could just go walk into the PX and grab whatever materials they needed, or--I mean, I'm sure they have funding for all that. I'm not really sure on how they get their hands on that type of stuff.

SMOOT: Um-hm.

PRATHER: But it was just two laser pointers. That's all it was. With tape around the buttons, pointing directly up in the sky. So, I mean, it wasn't anything high tech, it was just your standard laser pointer, that could be seen only with night vision goggles.

SMOOT: Hmm.

PRATHER: Yeah.

SMOOT: Wow. Uh, I assume you, you came under fire at, at your base, as well, um--

PRATHER: --right it was--

SMOOT: --then?--

PRATHER: --the same situation.

SMOOT: Yeah.

PRATHER: With these, we stay--we didn't stay in twos in Afghanistan. We, we was, stayed in what were called mods. Um, it was like a, like a dorm almost. Um, you stayed with four people, and it's your standard sized bedroom, I guess, in any household. It was four cots in the corner and a wall locker a piece. And we would always put like--we'd always jerry rig it, what we call. We would just put sheets like across the room in the shape of like a plus sign just to give us a little privacy.

SMOOT: Um-hm.

PRATHER: And, um, but you would walk in this mod, and there'd be a hallway, and then there'd be eight rooms, um, with 00:44:00a--in each hallway. You know, they had--with a door and everything. And there were just mods all across the place, but it wasn't like individual CHUs. It was--you had to walk into a building because you could walk into a room. So it was just the same thing, though. I mean, one time we got hit so close that the, um, gravel, it hit my window in my mod, and it knocked everything on my wall locker over. And that's a, the only time that I ever left my room when we were under fire and went to a bunker was when it hit that close. And then it turns out it was, uh, 200 meters away where it hit.

SMOOT: Hmm.

PRATHER: And, um, yeah, pretty powerful. But other than that, we would hear the sirens. The base was so big in A-, in Afghanistan, much bigger than Iraq. We had to actually drive to like the chow hall. We couldn't walk to it, it was so big. And, um, um--where was I going? Yeah, it's the only time that I left the room when we were under fire, but other than that we would just hear the 00:45:00sirens, and I would just stay in my room and just continue. I didn't pay no mind to it. (Smoot laughs) Yeah.

SMOOT: Did you wear body armor?

PRATHER: All the time.

SMOOT: All the--

PRATHER: --every time you're outside of your room you have body arm-, body armor on--flight vests, plate in the front, plate in the back, and your Kevlar on. You didn't really have to wear your Kevlar unless the sirens were going on. You could just walk around in your hat. But, uh, they always made you walk around in your body armor, especially when you fly. You go, you go locked and loaded when you fly. You got your clip in. You got your kneepads in, got your helmet on, your flight vest, your neck brace. I mean, you're, you're ready to go, 'cause you never know what could happen. You get shot down and be stranded. You know, you pack like s-, you, you pack for anything. Pack a couple MREs in there--Meals Ready to Eat--as many rounds as you can, usually about 300, 240, and, uh, that's when you would get fully locked and loaded is when you leave the base. But when you're just walking on the base, you don't have to have--you're actually not allowed to 00:46:00have a clip in your, your, uh, weapon. You need a--you walk around unloaded, but you have your ammo on you, but it's not in your weapon.

SMOOT: Okay. That sounds hot and heavy.

PRATHER: It was, but, um, you get used to it. You get used to everything. It's, um--you know, I would just--I always drink about two bottles of water on the way to work, and, um, it gets you in shape, too, carrying all that am-, or that body armor around and walkin' to work and walkin' back, and always hydrating. I mean, you get, you get used to it. When you do PT, though, you don't like run, any of that stuff. You just run in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, or when you work out it's what you work out in, but, um, you just don't--you don't pay any mind to the heat, because you just don't have time to think about it. You don't complain about the little stuff like that, you know--

SMOOT: --um-hm.--

PRATHER: --even though I did--(laughs)--complain about the weather. I was just g- cranky my whole time in Afghanistan. (Both laugh) I really was. I hated that place. It was the worst. And I think a lot of it had to do with stuff 00:47:00I saw over there. I didn't really see--the only time I saw a dead body in Iraq was when I was watching it on a TV screen, and--but then I saw dozens right next to me in, in Afghanistan. And, um, this wasn't after they were all cleaned up, ready to go home. This was twenty minutes after it happened.

SMOOT: Yeah.

PRATHER: And, you know, those are just images that I wish I would never have seen. And, uh, I still have nightmares about 'em to this day. Uh, I have insomnia a little bit. Uh, I have extreme paranoia wherever I go. Um, I always feel like people are looking at me, um, and it's just from when you're overseas and you're around these local nationals, you, you don't trust them. You know, they're, they're on your base, but you always keep your eye on 'em. I don't let anybody over there walk behind me, and you're always lookin' in rooms when you go, and-- And then I, since the paranoia, you know, carried over to the States with me, and it's somethin' that 00:48:00I'm workin' on to this day, and I've actually been diagnosed with PTSD, um, in, uh, uh, March of this year. I got diagnosed with it, and, um, they're--you know, they have classes for it, which are helping me, but the, the nightmares, they happen four, five times a week. And, um, when I do sleep--you know, I don't sleep at night hardly. Um, I take cat naps. And, um, you know, being over there carried with me to the States. It's been, it's been a rough few months these past few months.

SMOOT: Yeah.

PRATHER: Yeah.

SMOOT: Do they think that, uh, they'll be able t-to treat you so you will be able to sleep, uh, better?

PRATHER: They do. They got me on some meds, um, that help with the anxieties. Anxieties are a real bad thing that I ha-, I deal with.

SMOOT: How about like panic attacks?

PRATHER: Um--you know, only time--I don't really have really full out blown panic attacks, it's just, uh, my wife, she'll wake me up sometimes, and I'll be, um, ghost faced and have like sweaty palms 00:49:00and real dry mouth from--

SMOOT: --um-hm--

PRATHER: --'cause I'll be like twitching really bad when I'm asleep, and I'll just wake up with a really fast heartbeat, and then I, then I--it's not to the point where I can't calm myself down, like I don't go crazy or anything. I just, uh, wake up like in a state of mind that it takes me a few seconds to calm myself back down, tell me that I'm home, I'm in bed. And, um, but I haven't had a full blown panic attack yet. Uh--

SMOOT: --hopefully you won't--

PRATHER: --I don't see myself having one.

SMOOT: Yeah. Okay. You want to stop for a minute?

PRATHER: Yeah, sure, okay.

[Pause in recording.]

PRATHER: All right, let's do this thing.

UNIDENTIFIED: We're rolling.

SMOOT: Hmm. Justin, did you have any, uh, injuries or wounds or illness while you were overseas?

PRATHER: No, that's one say--that's one thing I can say didn't happen to me. Uh, I didn't have--I got sick a couple times, your standard cold, but when you're over there they s-, give you some cough medicine. It's like, "Suck it up." You 00:50:00know, it was--but nothing really came down. And they gave you like malaria pills and all kinds of vaccinations before you go, so they kind of get you ready. They get you sick before you go so you don't get sick while you're over there. (Smoot laughts) That's how they do it.

SMOOT: Okay. Did you receive any decorations or medals, commendations?

PRATHER: Yeah, I received, um, an Army Commendation Medal for both deployments, so two Army Commendation Medals, and two Army Achievement Medals. And, uh, I got promoted both times I was over there.

SMOOT: So what rank did you hold?

PRATHER: Uh, I was the E4 Special--I was a Sergeant, and then I ended up a E4 Specialist, but I won't get into that

SMOOT: Well, is an E4 Specialist higher or about the same as a Sergeant?

PRATHER: It's lower.

SMOOT: It's lower.

PRATHER: Yeah, Sergeant has um, ob- er, obligations and authority over the non-enlisted. So y-you're, you're in charge of more of--you have 00:51:00more responsibilities as a Sergeant than you would a Specialist, but as a Specialist you're still Squad Leader, and I still had soldiers to take care of or whatever.

SMOOT: Okay.

PRATHER: Yeah. Long story short, I had a, got in disagreement with somebody of rank that I should not be d-disagreeing with, (Smoot laughs) and it caused me to go down a rank, but, um, you know, I--it's somethin' I could've got back if I stayed in, but I chose to, to get out. Yeah.

SMOOT: Okay.

PRATHER: Wasn't a blip on my record or anything. I still received my commendations and my awards, but it's just protocol when you're in the Military. It's by the book--

SMOOT: --right--

PRATHER: --and there is no sympathy or no, "Oh, sorry, don't let it happen again," when you're in the Army. It's written black and white, and you know what not to do and what to do, and I just let me temper get the best of me, and, uh, you know, took my punishment like a man and moved on.

SMOOT: Right.

PRATHER: Yeah.

SMOOT: So you decided not to continue in the Military.

PRATHER: Yes.

SMOOT: When did that decision come about?

PRATHER: Well, that's funny: I was in Afghanistan, and they, uh--when you re-enlist and you're overseas you get a pretty significant bonus, and, um, they had offered me $8,000, um, cash, tax free, one time payment, be in my account overnight to re-enlist. And at that age--I think I was twenty-one--I was just like, "Wow, that's--I could have that in my account overnight." And then, uh, they had--I said okay, and they had drawn up the paperwork and everything. I was gonna sign up for another three years. And the only thing that was stopping me was my signature on the paper, so I called my dad to tell him, and he was just like, "No, no, no, no, no." He was like, "Don't do that." He's like, "You're lettin' the money influence you." He's like, "You've done your time. We're all proud of you. You've been overseas twice. It's time for you to come home." He's like, "Don't, don't make an impulse decision." And after talkin' it over with him, I never put my name on, never 00:53:00signed my name to that paper, and never re-enlisted. So I was close to staying in. Like I said, I was on back--I was almost getting promoted to E5 again, Sergeant, so I had that plus a bonus waiting on me. And, um, I ended up turning it down, and, and, uh, c- I got out of the service as soon, almost as soon as I got back from Afghanistan, then, within a month or two.

SMOOT: Would it be too much to ask what it was that was, uh, motivating your father to--

PRATHER: --he just didn't like to see his son overseas. And I went to Iraq, and he had to say goodbye to me there, and he's emotional, real emotional guy, and, uh, then he had to say goodbye to me again in Afghanistan. And then, um, you know, he--I kind of gave him a little tidbit here and there what I was doing, and about the med evac operations, and he just didn't want to worry anymore. He, uh, he didn't, uh--he didn't want me over there at all, no part of it. And he just wanted me back home. You know, he was proud I did my four years, and he just thought 00:54:00that I could, you know--I'm a smart kid; he thought I could just use my GI Bill to pursue a degree and come back home and live, and have all these benefits waiting on me, so--and he was right.

SMOOT: Okay. So you came back to Kentucky.

PRATHER: Yes.

SMOOT: And--to Lexington.

PRATHER: Yes.

SMOOT: And this would've been 2008, 2009.

PRATHER: Uh, it was, uh, early 2009--

SMOOT: --Okay--

PRATHER: --is when I came back to Lexington. And, uh, it was, it was a pretty smooth transition at first, and then, um, you know, I started struggling a little bit. Uh, you know, kind of being over at war for a year straight and then, um, dealing with everything that you deal with, and always being on guard, and seeing the things you see, and then, you know, within 24 hours you're back in the States, and it-it's a lot tougher transition than people would think--

SMOOT: --what--

PRATHER: --because, um, when you're overseas you, there are no rules. 00:55:00You know, the US Military makes the rules. And, um, you always gotta be on guard, and you never know what could happen. And, um, like I said, the next day you wake up and you're back home with red lights and stop signs and crowds of people, and then these people don't even know that yes--or three days ago I was flying next to somebody that had, you know, shrapnel all in their eyes, bleeding profusely, and, and, you know, seventy-two hours later I'm walking in Fayette Mall. You know, it's, it's tough, and, um, people don't--unless you really experience it, you really won't understand. Um, but I was so busy transitioning out of the Military when I got home, going, you know, s-, turning in all my equipment and stuff like that that I didn't really have time to think about where I just was. It wasn't until I was out and I was home that, you know, I started realizing or recalling what I had just witnessed and the things I 00:56:00had seen. And, you know, I, I just, I went, entered a phase, just being real hostile towards people, and real, uh, just aggravated. I would take things the wrong way. I'd always take things like people were out to get me. Like I would get like text messages and I would read 'em in like the complete wrong tone, just from being like always so demanding. And like when you're over there, you know, you've got to, you've got to be a force, like, when you're over there. You've got to be, um, an authority figure when you're overseas. You know, the local nationals, they, they need to fear you and respect you and, you know, you need to tell them how it is, and it's your way or no way. There's no compromising with those people. So now I'm back home and it's--you know, I carry that same attitude with me towards my friends and family, and I don't realize it but they do. And, you know, after so many people telling you like, you know, "What's, what's goin' on? What's wrong? Why are you so hostile all the time?", that's when I finally decided to go to the VA and start 00:57:00talkin' with somebody and tryin' to, tryin' to get help. And after talkin' with about--for about a year and a half, and the symptoms starting to get worse in a way--not really the hostility but the nightmares and the paranoia--that's when they diagnosed me with PTSD and, um, started getting me in these stress and anxiety classes and coping classes, and medication, and, you know, they're helping me get through it.

SMOOT: Well, now let me ask--uh, is there--there's no program, uh, or process that the Military has to help, uh, personnel who have come back from a combat zone reintegrate themselves into civilian life?

PRATHER: There is. There's mandatory classes that you have to go to that are over the period of a month. That's what you really do the first month is go to classes, but for somebody like myself, who is ETSing when they get back, you know, I was ready to just get out of the Military and 00:58:00go home and see my family, so I was clearing. I was turning in all my equipment, 'cause I was supposed to get out while--I was a, I was a soldier that was stop lossed. I was supposed to get out in, um, September of--or no, July or August of that year I was supposed to get out, but my unit didn't get home until November. So, you know, I was supposed to get out months before I did. And, um, since I was stop lossed, which means that it was said you're supposed to get out earlier than you do but you can't because you're over in combat--as soon as I got off the plane, you know, within a few days my NCO came up to me and was like, "You know, start clearing. You know, let's get you out of here." And, uh, I mean, I attended a couple of classes, but I didn't do the whole full month. And you know, there's a lot of, lot of sad cases that happened. I mean, I've heard stories of s-, you know, soldiers beating their wives at-, right after deployment and, you know, punching holes 00:59:00in walls and, you know, just losing it for no reason. Any little trigger could set 'em off, so--you know, I'm not--and these classes I go to, there's a room full of people, you know, so it affects a lot more people than you would think. And, you know, I, I understand I'm not the only one going through this, so it makes me feel better, but I'm not saying, uh-- I always feel like I'm, my symptoms are worse for some reason. And, um, I just --I didn't do the classes when I came back from my deployment like everybody else did. I started clearing and getting out of the Military, and now I'm doing those classes, two and a half years later.

SMOOT: Okay. Um, when did you decide to start, uh, going back to school?

PRATHER: Well, I started going back to school when I got back, and because the GI Bill, they pay you to go to school, they, um--I got a check on the first of every month just to attend school.

SMOOT: Um-hm.

PRATHER: And then I started going to class and realizing that--it 01:00:00wasn't 'til about my second semester that I realized that like--or halfway through the first one--my focus wasn't there. Um, I was always wondering off, started having flashbacks of stuff--

SMOOT: --um-hm--

PRATHER: --and just seeing people, hearing people talk sometimes irritated me, like that would complain about the simplest thing, and in my head I'm thinking, "You don't even understand like where I've been, what I've been through." And I always used that mentality. It's the wrong mentality to have, but I can't--It's something I'm working on. Like I just don't like hearing people complain about too much homework or whatever when they just don't even know what, they don't understand what tough life is really, really like, and actual sacrificing, and, you know, appreciating the little things, like having showers and stuff like that. 'Cause you take a lot for granted, I'll tell you that, and you go overseas and you realize how much important little things are. And then I would just, I'd be paranoid. Like 01:01:00I always sat in the very back of class, very back, and, um, I couldn't stand people sitting behind me in class. The first time I ever sat in the front row of class was your class--(Smoot laughs)--and that's because my now wife was sitting there with an open seat next to her, and I wanted to sit next to her. I didn't know her at the time. So that's--

SMOOT: --yeah--

PRATHER: --the only reason I sat in the first class, 'cause--or in the front row, so I wanted to sit next to her. But other than that I sat in the back row in, in the corner of every class, and, um, um, people behind me to this day I don't really, I don't like. I like have a uneasiness towards public places. Um, there's just so many people, and I, sometimes I start to feel like everybody or people are looking at me. You know, they may not be. And I'll be out to dinner with Mary, and, uh, I'll be like, "That group of guys over there are looking at me, like I want to go say something." And she's like, "No, no, no, don't." It's just--because you, when you're overseas for a year 01:02:00and you see a group of, you know, local nationals and th-they're looking at you, you think they're plottin'. I mean, that's the first thing you think, like, "What are they doing over there?" If I'm on a med evac mission and I see a group of 'em, "Does one of 'em have a AK under what they're wearing?" It's just like--you have that mentality. And witnessing it every day for a year straight, it is--you know, it carries over with you. It really does.

SMOOT: Um-hm.

PRATHER: And it's not as bad today as it was yesterday, but it's still, still bothers me.

SMOOT: Um-hm.

PRATHER: Definitely.

SMOOT: Would it be fair to say that you were under constant stress when you were overseas?

PRATHER: Constant. Twenty--because you, you never know where a mortar's gonna hit at. You know, in the back of your head it's just like, "Is somethin' about to hit? Is somethin' about to hit? Is somethin' about to hit?" And you don't think about it every second, but five minutes go by then I'll think that thought again, "Is somethin' about to hit?" And now even today--I could be watching TV in my house, and that--just for 01:03:00a split second. It's not the full, "Oh God, is somethin' about to hit my house?", but that split second I get that thought of uneasiness, that feeling, like "Is somethin' about to hit my house?"

SMOOT: Hmm.

PRATHER: And, um--but then I realize where I'm at and, you know, it's just like, "No, it's not gonna happen." But the fact that I still think that, it's--I shouldn't be thinkin' that two years home. And, um, but I am. And that's why, I guess, they call it post-traumatic stress syndrome, because it happens after the fact.

SMOOT: Right.

PRATHER: Yeah.

SMOOT: Did you know what you wanted to study as--did you have a idea of, of a, uh, any kind of a plan, uh, for, uh, a degree or, or a, a--any type of study--

PRATHER: --uh, no I didn't, uh--

SMOOT: --that you wanted to pursue when you went back to school?

PRATHER: I didn't. I, uh, I kind of shadowed my brother, my younger brother, something like that, is 'cause he, uh, had a head start on me 'cause I didn't start college until I was out of the Military. So he's, um--he graduated UK this last term, and, um, I kinda--he, he was in finance field, and, 01:04:00you know, my job was dealing with numbers a lot, you know, accumulating hours for the pilots and stuff like that and, you know, I like money. And he, uh--(Smoot laughs)--told me that his advisors told him that by the time he graduates the economy's gonna be lookin' for people in his field, and, uh, he wouldn't have any problem getting a job. And sure enough, he didn't. He walked right into a career, making good money, and, you know, I was lookin' at his classes and lookin' at his books, and I just kind of shadowed him and took the classes he took and decided to focus on finance.

SMOOT: Okay.

PRATHER: Yeah, but back to your question about being stressed, you gotta understand that when I was working missions, it wasn't two or three missions at a time. I'm talkin' ten, eleven, twelve missions at a time. Some have four stops, some have fifteen stops. And for every single mission I gotta know where they're at at all times. And I got Battle Captains and Majors breathing down my neck and, you know, I don't have time to look 01:05:00away for a split second in some cases. You know, it's not like that every day. Some days we do have just two missions all day, and those days are lovely. But when we have ten or eleven and it's clear skies and sunny, you know, it gets stressful, because I have to know every last bit of information about every last mission that we're doing.

SMOOT: Um-hm.

PRATHER: Yeah.

SMOOT: Well, of course, that could be, uh, I guess seen as, uh, very helpful, uh, in preparing you for a lot of other things, though, and being able to deal with such high levels of stress--

PRATHER: --yeah--

SMOOT: --um, school included. Uh, have you s-, have you seen, uh, benefits of any kind from your experiences?

PRATHER: Well, I mean, when I'm over there doing my job, you don't really realize how important it is, what you're doing until after the fact. It wasn't until I came home that I re-, that I realized like, "Wow, I had a really important job over there," and--but as it's happening you don't have time to think, like "Oh, wow, this is--I'm doing really good organizing here. I'm 01:06:00benefitting from all this information." You just do it, and you don't even think twice about it. It's just like breathing. But then you come home and you're like, "Wow, you know, I could probably go to Bluegrass Airport and do some, do something with them as far as flight tracking if I wanted." But it's--the sad thing is that for me personally, my symptoms that I have, my PTSD are overwhelming to the point that I can't time, take time to appreciate what I learned from the job that I had because I can't perform those tasks right now. I just--I can't do it. I have too many other things wearing on my mind, and haven't been able to sleep at night, and havin' paranoia, it's more--it's overwhelming. It's overshadowing the, you know, the what I learned performing my job overseas.

SMOOT: Yeah, those are, uh, those are, uh, uh, problems that, uh, affect everything.

PRATHER: Exactly.

SMOOT: Yeah. Um, what was your impression of, uh, of 01:07:00Bluegrass Community College?

PRATHER: I, um, really li-, I, I like it a lot, and Bluegrass Community and Technical College, we have more veterans than the University of Kentucky does.

SMOOT: That's interesting, isn't it?

PRATHER: Yes, way more. Over five hundred veterans that's in BCTC. And, um, only one other college in the state has more veterans than BCTC, and I wanted--I'm, I'm not exactly sure--I wish I knew. I think it's Western--

SMOOT: --okay--

PRATHER: --but, uh, I could be wrong so don't quote me on that. But, um, the thing about BCTC is I like the s-, the smaller classrooms. Um, I can only imagine what would happen if I walked into UK and sat in a auditorium sized room with two hundred students in there and--

SMOOT: --oh, yeah--

PRATHER: --a hundred of 'em sittin' behind me. I just--I couldn't deal with that.

SMOOT: Or three, or five, or eight hundred.

PRATHER: Yeah, exactly.

SMOOT: Yeah.

PRATHER: So I appreciate the small classrooms. Um, you know, I have--even, I could've went to UK and I chose to go to BCTC. I mean, I, I enjoy everything about that school. I mean, it's --'cause the thing about--I'm a huge UK fan, and BCTC is all Lexington people for the most part. (Smoot laughs) And, you know, UK has people from all over, so you're--people that go to BCTC are people that usually--not all, not all students, but a lot of 'em have lived here just as long as I have, so a lot of, you know, familiar faces and, um, you know--I, I wouldn't change anything about my decision to attend BCTC and, uh, still have another semester to go unfortunately. I've been there too long. Um, but, uh, you know, I really enjoy my time there.

SMOOT: And we're glad to have you.

PRATHER: Thanks.

SMOOT: Um--(clears throat)--have you found any particular classes to be most 01:09:00beneficial to you?

PRATHER: Um, I--my economics class.

SMOOT: Yeah.

PRATHER: Um, I took economics and it was, uh, real helpful, and--

SMOOT: --who'd you have for that?--

PRATHER: Kalala.

SMOOT: Okay.

PRATHER: Yes, and his accent made it a little difficult, but, um--what I noticed about a lot of instructors at BCTC is that a lot of 'em put notes on the board, everything they're saying, and he was one of 'em. I don't know if he did it because of his accent, but he--everything he said, he put it on the board. So even though I didn't understand him, I would have every word that came out of his mouth on a piece of paper to go home and read. And, um, that made it, that made it easier. And with my field in finance, um, I gotta take a couple economics classes, and I feel like I got a good foundation by taking his class.

SMOOT: Okay.

PRATHER: And, um, I feel like just my major, just--I enjoyed all my classes. There is not one class that I really 01:10:00wish I wouldn't have taken. I--in some cases a class may have been too easy that I didn't enjoy it, 'cause, um, I mean, I don't--should I give specific classes, or--

SMOOT: --that's entirely up to you.

PRATHER: Like, um, the IMD 100 class.

SMOOT: Um-hm.

PRATHER: I could show up on the final only and walk out with a A if that's, they allowed it, and--

SMOOT: --well, you have a good background in that, though, don't you?

PRATHER: Exactly. Exactly.

SMOOT: Yeah. Not everybody does.

PRATHER: That's true. But, uh, in some cases, like I said, I feel like the classes were a bit too easy, and--

SMOOT: --uh--

PRATHER: --but then again, they were level 100 classes. I shouldn't be taking those at this point. Now I don't--it was a couple years ago--but I'm sure they have some more difficult classes, like your History 240 class.

SMOOT: What?

PRATHER: Which I enjoyed, by the way.

SMOOT: Thank you.

PRATHER: Yes. But you challenge your students.

SMOOT: Yeah.

PRATHER: And, uh, and what my wife liked about your class so much is that you, uh, make us read. And, you know, she, uh, she enjoys reading, so--and they're interesting books, too. 01:11:00And, uh, you know, some history teachers, they'll just go over the material and make you memorize a bunch of things, but you, you know, you wanted us to get hands on and read it, so we enjoyed that about your class.

SMOOT: Thank you. Um, so do you feel like you're going to continue in, uh, pursuit of a degree in finance?

PRATHER: I do. I, I do. I mean, I--my ultimate goal is to be a CFO one day, and, uh--

SMOOT: --okay--

PRATHER: --you know, if I can just get help with these other issues that I have going on, there's no doubt in my mind that I'll get there. There's no doubt in my mind that I will get help and that I'll be able to function in society normally again, and, um, it's not like I can't now. I c-, I, I can still go out if I choose to, but, uh, my preferred choice is at home, you know, with the door shut and the blinds shut. That's my comfort zone, and it's sad. Like I don't like to live like that, but unfortunately at this point in time, uh, that's where I'm most 01:12:00comfortable at. And, um, I've struggled in school the past couple semesters. I'm dealing with it. And, um, had it not been for the GI Bill, I might not have even attended at all. Um--

SMOOT: --um-hm--

PRATHER: --but now, you know, I find myself in a little bit of a hole, you know, academically trying to, trying to get out of BCTC, and it's just these, this, my inability to focus and my paranoia, it's, it's wearing on me. And I just--I want to get back in school and finish, but I just, I gotta handle other areas of my life first.

SMOOT: Have you found the, um, uh, resources of BCTC to be helpful to you generally in dealing with any of these problems, or have you had to go outside for these kinds of, for that kind of assistance?

PRATHER: No, I really don't use the BCTC, uh, resources for these. Uh, the VA website has everything you need to know 01:13:00about how to cope with PTSD and everything, 'cause they have so many soldiers that deal with it, but, um--not that the BCTC resource couldn't offer me that. They sure-, they most certainly could, but me personally, I've just solely dealt with the VA on this issue.

SMOOT: I know you were working at one time with the, uh, gentleman who's now gone on, but the gentleman who was, uh, in charge of Veterans Affairs--

PRATHER: --yes--

SMOOT: --at, uh, BCTC.

PRATHER: Right.

SMOOT: Uh, what can you tell me about that program and, uh, what it does for veterans?

PRATHER: Uh, that's a really good program, actually. Um, we actually started the first student veteran organization at BCTC, and, um, I was the treasurer, um, 'cause I'm good with numbers. I was treasurer for the organization, and--

SMOOT: --um-hm--

PRATHER: --we were started from the ground up. Um, it was me and a few other veterans. And we actually, uh, 01:14:00had a fundraising event, um, one day, and we brought more money than any other student organization has brought to BCTC--

SMOOT: --hmm--

PRATHER: --which, uh--I forget which employee told us that, but it was the one who allows organizations to set up booths in Oswald Building or whatever. And we had a lot of people. We had, uh, the Army come up and set a s-, up a simulation tank, and had the Marines come up, and they set up a pull-up bar, you know, for students to come do, have pull-up contests. And we had, um, information given out to students about Military and the benefits of joining. And I talked to dozens of students on why, uh, why they should join, and--or why not. Whatever they, whatever the questions they had, I would answer them. And, um, you know, unfortunately that organization doesn't exist as of now, 'cause the President and Vice President have moved on and, um, my boss, he no longer works there. So I'm not 01:15:00sure what, what the SVO--Student Vet Organization--consists of now, but for, during last semester and our time there we, we actually got it running. We start-, like I said, we started from the ground up. We wrote Congressman Chandler and tried to get a letter of support from him, which we were unable to do, but that just shows you, you know, how serious we were about it. And, um, you know, it was, it was kind of--took pride in building it from the ground up, we really did, 'cause we started with four members--two Pr-, a President, a Vice President, a Secretary, and a Treasurer, and then by the end of the semester we had thirty plus people attending our, our meeting, so we felt pretty good about that.

SMOOT: Hmm. And so you, you would certainly say that that's something that should continue.

PRATHER: Oh, I b-, absolutely think it should continue.

SMOOT: Um-hm.

PRATHER: Definitely. Now, not, not necessarily that I'll be a part of it, but, um, for other veterans who are, who are not struggling with, with any other con-, um, issues or want to, you know, keep in touch with veterans and, uh, I would highly 01:16:00recommend that. You know, you can--you had a chance to get your voice heard and, uh, you know, veterans, they get a positive response a lot of the time as far as gettin', getting things added to campus, or i-, uh, recommendations. You know, we get a lot of positive feedback, just 'cause the title of Veteran carries a lot with hit.

SMOOT: Um-hm.

PRATHER: And, um, you know, they had pizza every meeting, and just a chance to meet new friends, and that's when I really found out how many veterans are at BCTC. I couldn't believe there's over five hundred of 'em. We, uh, put a yellow ribbon for every veteran that attended BCTC throughout Oswald Building one time, and it took up all, both stairways and the doors and everything. It's pretty crazy how many attend there.

SMOOT: Uh, does it break it down, th-that statistic, did anybody break that down into which branch of the Military people served in?

PRATHER: Nah, we didn't do that.

SMOOT: Okay.

PRATHER: No.

SMOOT: Okay, 'cause I was--

PRATHER: --veteran--

SMOOT: --wondering if there was a preponderance in one branch or another.

PRATHER: Well, from my experience it's in, you know--most people I 01:17:00talked to were Army.

SMOOT: Yeah.

PRATHER: Yeah.

SMOOT: I've had a number of Marines in class, too.

PRATHER: Yeah, we had a few of those. I was gonna say, the other--it's either Marines or Army. I've, I definitely met Navy or Air Force. I wouldn't say they're not there. They most certainly are there.

SMOOT: Had them, too, but--

PRATHER: --yeah--

SMOOT: --not as many, like you say.

PRATHER: Right.

SMOOT: Okay. Is there anything else that you think BCTC might do that would be helpful particularly toward veterans?

PRATHER: Uh, I feel like they're extremely accommodating towards veterans. The, uh, the way we get enrolled in class is extremely sufficient. I mean, it's quick.

SMOOT: Um-hm.

PRATHER: You know, they have the VA office off Leestown campus and, um, you know, they're real professional about their jobs over there. They're not veterans that work there necessarily, but they, uh, they treat us like veterans. I mean, they're super nice. They, they get us our benefits, you know, the--and if there is a delay in our benefits and our tuition hasn't been paid. BCTC still just, you know, they let us attend school, 'cause they know that GI Bill money is guaranteed money. So they, it's 01:18:00not like they say, "No, you can't attend, you haven't, we haven't received our benefits yet." They are very accommodating toward, towards veterans. And, uh, you know, we're--obviously if a penny has been paid halfway through the semester they're not gonna ask you to withdraw 'cause they, they understand that the money's comin' and they appreciate you attending their school. So, uh, they make it definitely real easy to enroll. Uh, you fill out the blue schedule card sheet, turn it in, and that's the last thing you gotta do. It's just really ten minutes to enroll in your classes. So I wouldn't change anything else really.

SMOOT: Good. Is there anything else that you think we should touch upon as far as your Military career or your experiences at the college?

PRATHER: Uh, I just wish that, like, BCTC would be, would take into factor somebody like myself who is suffering with PTSD, and my grades have shown the last two semesters, and, um, you know, not that I want a freebie by any means or that I 01:19:00deserve it over somebody else struggling with their own personal issues, but I wish there was a way to maybe withdraw for some classes after the fact that it's already happened without having to do the whole appeals process. I wish there was somebody I could just talk to that deals with veterans and PTSD and show 'em my, my, uh, medical chart and the psy-, psychiatrist's, you know, diagnosis, and then that could just have them un-, have an understanding of why I made such poor grades the last semester or two, and maybe turn those, you know, E's into I's or W's and s-, and get 'em off my transcript. That's one thing I could change. I wish they would be more understanding of w-w-what we're going through as veterans that have seen the things we've seen and how it does affect us in the classroom.

SMOOT: Well, I'll see if I can't help you a little bit there. Uh, anything else?

PRATHER: I feel like I've covered pretty much everything.

SMOOT: Well, I want to thank you, Justin.

PRATHER: My pleasure.

SMOOT: Appreciate it.

PRATHER: I enjoyed it.

SMOOT: Okay.

PRATHER: Thank you.

[End of interview.]